CITYnews halifax : Nova Scotia receives a D on its poverty report card as people struggle

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

The province showed some improvement in poverty from a “very weak baseline,” a new report card shows.

According to Food Banks Canada, which conducts a series of surveys and collects data to showcase the experiences of people’s affordability — or lack thereof — across Canada. Its latest report gives Nova Scotia an overall D rating, a slightly lower rating than the country got.

The largest improvement the report card shows was in the material deprivation index, which notes that the province moved from a D- and F to C+ in people’s abilities to afford basic necessities.

Poverty measures in the province showcase that people are struggling. The unemployment rate, food insecurity rate, and the funding given to people on social and disability assistance in Nova Scotia received an F.

Despite these poor grades, 41 per cent of people said they are feeling worse off compared to the year before, which is an improvement, although small.

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“The percentage of people who are feeling worse off has stabilized a bit, and fewer people are saying that,” Richard Matern, Director of Research at Food Banks Canada, told Nova Scotia Today. “It could be a combination of increased purchasing power as inflation has slowed a bit.”

Nova Scotians are still paying more than 30 per cent of their income on housing, struggling to access health care and say government support is “insufficient to keep up with the cost of living.” All three categories received an F from Food Banks Canada.

The province saw improvements compared to other Atlantic provinces and the country when people were asked how much they spent on fixed costs outside of housing. The report notes that Nova Scotia had the lowest proportion of people (52.7 per cent) and is well below the national average.

“That’s why in this report, we’re recommending strong changes and updates to our social security system, so people have improved food and security, which in turn can reduce healthcare needs,” Matern said.

The report card indicates that Nova Scotia is making progress legislatively, meaning the government is creating and funding programs that help keep the cost of living down or assisting people in poverty.

Some changes in the last year include the minimum wage increase, expansion to the school lunch program and the heating assistance rebate.

“What’s really reinforced through this report is you cannot slow down with initiatives to reduce poverty and food and security,” he said. “So you may make an investment one year and not the next. It has to be consistent to really address the scale of need that we’re seeing.”